Full of “girls who don’t apologize for who they are,” Mathangi Subramanian’s A People’s History of Heaven proves heaven isn’t about a distant perfection. Here, Heaven is a Bangalore slum where people are bound together by... Read More

Richard Chiem’s "King of Joy" traces an abandoned girl’s tragic trajectory from unloved teenager to abandoned bride to snuff porn queen. This experimental literary novel is the right amount of both dreamy and dark. Corvus, limp and... Read More

"Split-Level" is a literary novel that navigates intimate struggles with unforgettable style. Sande Boritz Berger sets a 1970s Jersey housewife on a provocative collision course in "Split-Level", a sharp portrait of female empowerment.... Read More

"The Eclipse Dancer" is a resonant literary fantasy in which distinct cultures clash and supernatural possibilities are ever-present. A dreamy, mournful fantasy, Laura Koerber’s "The Eclipse Dancer" inspires thoughts of other possible... Read More

Raising good questions about the state of contemporary society, "Nobody I Know" is a compelling religious psychological thriller. John J. Gaynard’s heady thriller "Nobody I Know" mines ideas about terrorism and the intellect to... Read More

With its focus on the presence of God in human lives, "Hearts Set Free" is a powerful and inspiring novel. Jess Lederman’s uplifting and compelling Christian novel "Hearts Set Free" is about hearts that come to Jesus in unexpected... Read More

We cannot know war––the terror, gore, long-lasting psychological derangement—if we haven’t marched into battle. Nothing imitated in Hollywood or imagined can approximate the vivid moment an enemy soldier thrusts a bayonet at your... Read More

Set at the dawn of the 1980s, Norma Elia Cantú’s lovely novel "Cabañuelas" occupies a culturally liminal space. Nena is from a family in Laredo, Texas, that keeps its Mexican culture alive, even while sending its sons to fight for... Read More